SMS Competency - Knowledge Management

This is one of eleven competences that appear in the SMS Competency Framework for senior managers in South Africa's Public Service. All these competences are viewed as being critical for high performance in the senior manager’s role. The eleven competences are:

1. Strategic Capability and Leadership;
2. Programme and Project Management;
3. Financial Management;
4. Change Management;
5. Knowledge Management;
6. Service Delivery Innovation;
7. Problem Solving and Analysis;
8. People Management and Empowerment;
9. Client Orientation and Customer Focus;
10. Communication;
11. Honesty and Integrity;

Competency definition

Must be able to promote the generation and sharing of knowledge and learning in order to enhance the collective knowledge of the organisation

Proficiency level

Basic

• Collects, categorises and tracks relevant information required for specific tasks and projects;
• Analyses and interprets information to draw conclusions;
• Seeks new sources of information to increase own knowledge base; and
• Shares information and knowledge with co-workers.

Competent

• Uses appropriate information systems to manage organisational knowledge;
• Uses modern technology to stay abreast of world trends and information;
• Evaluates information from multiple sources and uses information to influence decisions;
• Creates mechanisms and structures for sharing of knowledge in the organisation;
• Uses libraries, researchers, knowledge specialists and other knowledge bases appropriately to improve organisational efficiency;
• Promotes the importance of knowledge sharing within own area;
• Adapts and integrates information from multiple sources to create innovative knowledge management solutions; and
• Nurtures a knowledge-enabling environment.

Advanced

• Anticipates future knowledge management requirements and systems;
• Develops standards and processes to meet future knowledge management requirements;
• Shares and promotes best practices across the organisation;
• Coaches others on knowledge management techniques;
• Monitors and measures knowledge management capability in organisation;
• Creates a culture of a learning organisation; and
• Holds motivational sessions with colleagues to share information and new ideas.

Expert

• Consulted by others for expert knowledge management capability;
• Creates and supports a vision and culture where staff feel empowered to seek and share knowledge;
• Establishes partnerships across organisational boundaries to facilitate knowledge management;
• Recognises and exploits knowledge nodes in interactions with clients;
• Strives to ensure that there is a correlation between the organisational and the knowledge strategies; and
• Works across organisations to identify and share critical knowledge.

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Copyright RSA Department of Public Service and Administration: SMS Handbook - Chapter 5: Competency Framework (2003).

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External Links

Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Republic of South Africa